Every year our Christian Education program has a theme to which it caters its activities around. This year’s theme, peace, has been a hit! Our take home project is particularly special this year as well. This past year camp tore down the two cabins in the ball field (H-11 and H-12). In it’s place now stands the Ginger Box which is used for staff housing. The two ball field cabins were significant because they were two of the original cabins constructed at camp. During their demolition the shingles were carefully taken off and are now being recycled for the Christian Education take home craft! Each camper is given a shingle and they have the option to decorate it however they see fit. They are provided with markers and have the option to wood burn whatever they see fit. They are given a piece of camp to commemorate the peace that they have found at camp!
What a storm! After a sweltering hot day a massive thunderstorm rolled over camp. Luckily for us, it was in the middle of dinnertime. All of camp, with the exception of the groups who were cooking out whom later joined us, were safe and sound and also dry in the dining hall. After dinner everyone sang a few camp songs and before we knew it the storm lightened up a bit. Following dinner we had a wet free time. Many campers played games like apples to apples and monopoly in the dining hall. Some campers went to the craft shop, and others hung out in the Environmental center. Even though it may have been a wet free time and campers stayed indoors, it sure was a fun one!
One major perk of two week sessions is since there is more time, groups have the option to camp out! The Adventure Pathfinders packed up their coolers, tents, and canoes for a two night excursion to Trap Pond State Park. To prep for this trip, the campers went on a two hour canoe trip on Thursday morning with their counselors, the waterfront director, and their unit leader. While at Trap pond, this unit will canoe under cypress trees, explore the many hiking trails, and cookout seven meals over fire. When they return we will make sure to tell you all about their adventures in great detail!
Back at Camp Arrowhead, the Pioneer cabins left their homes in pioneer to go on an overnight 15 minutes away in Outpost. They carried their tents and cooking materials and spent the night out there. For entertainment, they played all sorts of games and when the timing was right all of the units ventured out to the marsh to watch the sunset. P1 was feeling adventurous so they made chili in a bucket and s’mores with Oreos. P4 planned chapel so they could lead it in the morning for the rest of the units out In Outpost. All in all, this overnight was a success! When Pioneer came home from their overnight on Tuesday they were pleasantly surprised to meet the new Taste of Campers. The Taste of Campers or as we call them sometimes “Tasties”, will be here for three nights and about four days to try out the many activities Arrowhead has to offer and experience life away from home. We are very happy to ride out the rest of the session with them. Peace! Theresa, Sam and Melissa During our two week sessions here at camp we hold a Sunday Central where all of camp joins forces and holds an event for everyone to enjoy. This session’s theme was Halloween and we had a blast with it! The evening was broken up into 3 events; a Halloween party, a haunted house and a spooky hayride. The party was were groups spent the majority of their evening. This is where groups showed off their awesome costumes that they worked on earlier that day. Each group created a monster which they brought to be displayed at the party as well. Campers had the option to have either their palm read or their fortune told to them via a crystal ball. They also danced the night away and munched on caramel corn and Halloween candy. Each group was taken to our Rec Hall where normally we store all of our camping equipment. The building was transformed into an asylum themed haunted house. Led by two creepy zombie dolls and filled with our staff members dressed as patients of the asylum, we sure got a few screams out of the campers! Then campers got to explore a spooky side of camp on the hayride. This was nothing like Arrowhead’s usual hayride where groups sing songs and get a tour of camp’s beauty. Instead they were taken all over camp where non counseling staff had set up creepy stations in every hidden corner of the property. Zombies, clowns, witches and an exorcism were all included in the scare tactics among many others. It is safe to say that eve though everyone got a little spooked, everyone had a fun night. After all of the excitement groups headed to bed. Since we were up a little late last night, everyone got to sleep in an extra hour which was a nice reward for everyone’s hard work. Since it is Monday we have a new batch of day campers and we are back to our regular schedule! Here’s to making this week as fun as last week! Peace, Melissa Second Session is I full swing and camp has been heating up! With temperatures in the 90’s counselors are adapting to keep the campers cool as well as entertained! H-6, P-1 and TOC B all have cooled off at the bay on the banana boat. P-2 decided to take the paddleboards out for a spin on the bay today. Meanwhile Counselor Beth and her assistant counselor Maggie held a relay race for their P-6campers at the bay. Our Sailing Pathfinders are especially lucky because they get to spend their entire afternoon on the water. They have been doing an extraordinary job learning to captain Sunfish boats in pairs. Tomorrow they will take it up a notch and learn to sail Hobie waves!
Since yesterday was Wednesday we practiced one of Camp Arrowhead’s most special traditions; Wednesday night cookout! Every Wednesday evening the dining hall shuts down for an extra thorough cleaning while groups cook their own meals. Homestead, day camp and Taste of Camp groups venture out to the woods in Outpost and cook delicious burgers with their groups. This gives these groups a nice camping-like feel without actually spending the night. They spend the rest of their evening playing a big game of capture the counselor with the rest of the groups. Once that is over with, they tidy up and walk back to camp just in time to cool off at the pool during free swim! This session Pioneer groups held a Dutch-Oven-a-Palooza! Each group was asked to make a dish of their choice in a Dutch oven. P-7 decided to be adventurous and made a delicious quiche. P-1 kept it classic (but still delicious) and made chicken and rice. Other dishes included apple crumble, loaded mac and cheese, stuffed peppers and mashed potatoes! Campers and staff left full and satisfied. Meanwhile, both the Adventure and Sailing Pathfinder groups cooked out dishes at their respective sites then brought them to the beach to share. SPF cooked a tasty pot of chili. They ended up with tons of extra garbanzo beans and time to spare so they got creative and decided to mash them into hummus! APF set out crab traps that morning and lucked out by catching 14 crabs! With them they made a delicious surf and turf stir fry. After the cookout the TOC headed down to the council ring for their farewell bonfire. Both groups performed skits that were short but sweet for sure. We sang a plethora of camp songs and lit our traditional candles as we sent the Taste of Campers away to do their last night of reflections with their groups before heading home in the morning. We miss them already and look forward to seeing a new group check in on Monday! Peace! Melissa The beginning of second session also marks the beginning of a new era. The new APF site is officially in use! As one of the first counselors in the new site, I am truly grateful and excited to see what it has to offer. All six of our campers came in yesterday afternoon and shared the same excitement in breaking in the site. They expressed that they felt privileged to be the first campers to stay in the site and described the experience as “legendary”. My co-counselor, Adam, and I helped our campers build an awesome marshmallow roasting fire to christen the site. It was the perfect way to get to know each other and begin an awesome session! I have a feeling that great friendships and adventures lie ahead. Your adventurer, Michelle Thursday H10 and H4 worked on woodburning their pieces of camp. Day Camp 1 made sand art prayers in the Pavillion. P1 made some really cool books in the Craft Shop while H1, Day Camp 2 & H7 made fantastic tie dye shirts. P5 learned how to flip canoes in the bay and spent a good chunk of their morning paddling around in the sunshine. P3 learned survival skills from their counselors, Will and Kevin. The boys found that if they shave the bark off of a cedar log and light it with a flint, they would get a raging fire very quickly. P7 planned their chapel while at archery and led the whole camp on Friday morning. In P6, some campers enjoyed lashing a tepee in their campsite during a cookout. Speaking of tepees, The service session CIT's were organizing old tarps in the Rec Hall and uncovered an old one that Teri and her Retreat Pathfinders painted in 1998. We're working to find enough poles to try to set it up next session in Boy's Homestead... we'll keep you posted! Thursday Nights at camp are for Socials! Homestead had a Scooby Doo Dive In Movie at the pool. They were served psychedelic snow cones and Scooby Snacks (puppy chow). Don't know what puppy chow is? You coat chex cereal in melted chocolate and then cover the chocolate with powdered sugar. It's a camp favorite. You can also add peanut butter to the chocolate, use white chocolate or mix ingredients like cinnamon, cocoa powder or cake mix to the powdered sugar coating. It's a camp favorite! And Ketih and Emma had some episodes of Scooby Doo projected up on a screen at on the deck of the Quail's Nest Staff Lounge. The kids had a blast - and the staff had fun too. The Pioneer Units had a beach party in the Pavilion and called it the Tidal Wave Tango. P5's counselor looked up all of his campers names in Hawaiian and made them name tags. P4 wore lyrics to a beach song on their name tags and P3 wore Hawaiian & beach phrases like Aloha, Mahalo & Surf's Up! P1, P2, P6 & P7 wore flowers in their hair. They danced to surf tunes and pop music dj'd by the Eriksen Cousins - Paul and Lars.
Though the weather has been a bit cloudy this week, the sun keeps peaking through at Camp Arrowhead and all planned activities have commenced without any rain drops! Today we're packing and preparing to return home. Tonight we will attend Eucharist. Every unit is in charge of a a part of the service and Father Tom from Christ Episcopal Church in Milford with celebrate. After the service we will have our end of Session Campfire. All the groups meet up at the dining hall and silently process to the Council Ring for the fire. Every unit will share a skit to share and Walt's leading the fire tonight so it's sure to be a fun one! Peace & Adventure Are Out There! Teri & Theresa Tuesday morning Day Camp 2 were the very first camper group to lead Chapel. They read from the Beattitudes and lead us in singing I Like Bananas.
High Ropes was busy busy busy! P4 traversed our four bridges. P1 lept from the pamper plank. P6 & H2 both screamed (or held their breath) on the Giant Swing. H9 & H10 gardened with Paul at the Environmental Center and H4 disected owl pellets. H7 dressed up as animals for lunch. H6 kayaked after siesta. H8 made cards with Doreen. Tuesday night the Waterfront Staff hosted many Homestead groups for Pirates and Mermaids Bonfire at the beach. There was a lot of hula hooping! S'mores were roasted. Pineapple was toasted. And many a brave pirate and mer-person helped to capture the evil Sea Monster (aka Chet, a waterfront staff member) and forced him to walk the plank (or just off the bottom of the beachtower, into the bay). Thankfully no staff were injured in the making of that memory! Wednesdays are always exciting at camp Arrowhead. Dining Hall closes after lunch to bltiz the kitchen and everyone cooks out for dinner. All of Homestead ventured out to their homes in the woods at Outpost and grilled burgers over their fires. Once the chocolate and marshmallow from their s’mores was wiped from their faces, they played capture counselor before heading back to main camp for free swim. In the mean time - Pioneer Units cooked out in their units and gathered at the Pavilion for a Potluck Dinner. Each unit cooked for 50 people and shared what they created with the other groups. P1 made twice baked mashed potatoes with bacon, cheese, and scallions, P4 made chicken with a BBQ sauce made from a reduction of ketchup and CocaCola, and P5 made mega egg burgers with a spicy sauce. P6 and P7 tested their cookware skills and used a Wok and Dutch oven to make pineapple stirfry and baked mac and cheese. For dessert, P2 made griddle pretzels with cinnamon and sugar and P3 made campfire ice cream cones stuffed with marshmallows, banana, and chocolate. After they filled their bellies they played games together around the Pavillion. Peace, & Adventure is Out There! - Teri & Theresa After a week of training, the staff was eager to finally welcome campers to Arrowhead on Sunday. We were overwhelmed by the number of familiar faces and are equally excited to get to know the fresh ones! On Sunday evening, after settling into their cabins, Homestead ventured out to their camp sights in Outpost to roast marshmallows and get better acquainted with their cabin-mates. Meanwhile, pioneer units built fires in units to do the same. After showers and reflections, units went to sleep to rest up for their exciting first day full of activities. We could not have asked for a more beautiful day to kick off camping season. After a delicious pancake breakfast and a great Chapel (where we learned about the theme of the summer - Peace) the activities began! Many units such as H-3, P-4 and P-5 took this block to play ice breaker games to get to know each other a bit better. Day Camp, H-3, H-7, P-1, P-2 and P-3 all visited the craft shop to glaze their awesome tiles. Some campers went for abstract designs while others showed their affection to camp and painted an assortment of Arrowhead inspired pictures on their tiles. H-4 had a particularly adventurous morning. While learning an in depth history of camp on a walking tour of camp called the “Path of Peace” the group stumbled upon a turtle laying eggs! Co-counselors Brooks and Hunter decided to put the Peace Path on hold and watched a bit of nature unfold. A hearty lunch of chicken sandwiches and a relaxing siesta helped campers refuel for their afternoon activities. Every group enjoyed some afternoon time in the pool during for Free Swim. Many units were lucky enough to spend part of their afternoon at the waterfront too. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky so counselors made sure that campers lathered up on their sunscreen before partaking in any of those activities. Freddy the boat driver took H-7, P-2 and P-4 out for a spin on the banana boat. The bay was a bit choppy today due to the wind so it was an extra fun ride! Both Day Camp groups, H-3 and P-6 all used the wind in their favor and went out for a sail. Meanwhile H-9 stayed on dry on the shore and held a tea party. The day was capped off with a Pioneer Mustache Party bonfire at the beach. Some campers hula hooped the night away while others worked on toasting the perfect marshmallow for their smores. A memorable night was had by all. We look forward to many more action packed days not only in this session but in throughout the summer! We will be tending to the blog regularly and apologize for not posting this sooner! All of the staff has been putting in a great deal of effort to ensure the campers have a session to remember. Peace! Melissa *In an effort to keep all of our campers safe - we will not be posting photos of or naming your children while they are in our care. Thanks for understanding.
Have you ever wondered about our Pathfinder Programs? Well, we asked some of our senior summer staff to write about them. Pathfinders are our oldest campers - entering 10th and 11th grade. They are co-ed group (with separate sleep areas, of course). Counseled by senior staff, each Pathfinder group has a particular focus during their time at camp, while still participating in general camp activities. Many of these campers progress to become part of the staff. Theresa is one of our 2014 Unit Leaders and recent graduate of Immaculata University. In the fall she will transition from part time to full time as the Youth Leader at her home parish. This will be her 7th summer on staff. She co-counseled the very first group of Leadership Pathfinders in 2012 and will oversee the program this summer - which is precisely why we asked her to write this post! (We sometimes refer to this unit at the Leadership Training Group (or L.T.G.) Pathfinders as an homage to our camp history. We used to call our Counselors in Training, LTGs) Leadership Pathfinders is a hands-on program that works with students to better their leadership and communication skills. Campers in this program participate in a comprehensive leadership training run by their Unit Leader and do volunteer work both in the community, and for the Camp Arrowhead Family. They also learn some of the skills and character traits they need to be future staff members in Camp Arrowhead’s Counselor in Training program.
Camp’s last group of Leadership Pathfinders attended third session in 2012. Each morning these campers met with their Unit Leader and learned various leadership strategies that not only strengthened their skills regarding work with others, but also enhanced their own innate leadership styles by learning from other important leaders. They took part in various exercises that taught them how to be better listeners, and observers while working with others. These exercises included the low ropes course, the rock wall, and high ropes course. They needed to work as a team to complete tasks that were more complex than other camper groups on these courses, such as blindfolded, or working as a team without speaking. Canoe trips and other team work activities such as overnights may be part of the program in the future. Journaling was a large part of their experience and during their morning block with their Unit Leader, these campers would hear quotations by famous leaders and react to them. Their counselor also read them the novel, “A Million Miles in a Thousand Years: What I learned While Editing My Own Life” by Donald Miller, which is memoir with the motif that all people should write a story for themselves that they can be proud of. Also in their journals, Leadership Pathfinders would write about their leadership experiences and how they thought they could become better leaders. Service was a large part of the Leadership program. Each day there was an opportunity for service at camp or in the community. They took a trip to the Indian River Life Saving Station to do landscaping and cleaning of the museum there to prepare for a big program. From this experience, they were able to understand how they could help their community, and feel the special happiness that comes with servanthood. While at the museum, the tour guides gave them a special history lesson and tour. Other service projects included cleaning the boat yard and friendship garden, helping run the Homestead camper's Minute-to-Win-It themed social. While their week at camp is based on leadership strategies, these campers also take part in all traditional camp opportunities such as sailing, cook-outs, bonfires, and craft shop activities. As a former counselor of this program, I found it not only beneficial for the campers, but enlightening and encouraging to see how much they had to offer and wanted to give back to others. I am very excited to see this program return because several Leadership Pathfinders have become current staff and it is nice that they can understand some expectations of a staff leadership before they enter the staff community. I am even more elated to help run this program during the summer of 2014 because not every student, or camper understand that being a leader is a very important role, and there is a proper way to go about it. It will be exciting to meet this years Leadership Pathfinders and get them excited about leading others and more importantly, becoming the best version of themselves! Adventure is out there! Theresa Online Registration is Open |
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